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AN  ECHO  OF  1861 


THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THESUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION 


A  SERMON 

BY 

REV.  EDWIN  SAWYER  WALKER,  A.  M. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


Class  Book 

52,  Vu  1  S' 


Volume 


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A  SERMON. 


THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF 
THE  NATION. 


Delivered  before  the  “Ripon  Rifles,”  in  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
Ripon,  Wisconsin,  June  2,  1861. 


By  Rev.  Edwin  Sawyer  Walker,  A.  M. 


TEXT: 

Exodus  XXXIII:  1314. 


“Now  THEREFORE,  I  PRAY  THEE,  IF  I  HAVE  FOUND  GRACE  IN  THY 
SIGHT,  SHOW  ME  NOW  THY  WAY,  THAT  I  MAY  KNOW  THEE,  THAT  I  MAY 
FIND  GRACE  IN  THY  SIGHT:  AND  CONSIDER  THAT  THIS  NATION  IS  THY 
PEOPLE.” 

“And  he  said:  My  presence  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will 

GIVE  THEE  REST.” 


These  words  are  words  of  :miingled  prayer  and  promise. 
The  first  verse  is  the  prayer  of  Moses,  the  leader  of  Israel,  and 
the  second  verse  God’s  promise  in  answer  to  that  prayer. 

There  is  not,  in  all  history,  a  more  interesting  narrative 
than  the  account  which  the  Old  Testament  furnishes,  of  the 
life  of  Moses  and  the  Israelitish  nation,  under  his  wise  and 
patriotic  administration.  From  a  condition  of  the  mlost  bitter 
bondage,  Israel  grew,  whilst  under  his  leadership,  to  be  the 
most  free,  enlightened  and  independent  nation  in  the  world. 
This  change  from  servitude  in  Egypt,  to  freedom  in  Canaan, 
was  not,  however,  brought  about  in  a  day,  nor  without  the 
shedding  of  blood1.  To  every  reader  of  the  Bible  who  comes 
to  it,  not  with  a  caviling,  but  in  a  reverent  spirit,  there  are 
opened  lessons,  which  reveal,  in  language  not  to  be  mis¬ 
taken,  the  great  plan  of  Divine  Government  among  men. 


2  THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION. 

The  more  thoroughhly  we  study  these  lessons,  the  better 
shall  we  be  prepared  to  fulfill  our  duties,  as  in  the  providence 
of  God  they  may  be  assigned  us.  “Though  we  are  well  as¬ 
sured  that  the  Divine  Being  is  attentive  to  the  conduct  of  men 
at  all  times,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  believe  that  he  is  peculiarly 
so,  while  they  are  under  his  correcting  hand.”  As  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  God’s  administration  are  unchangeable,  and  the  con¬ 
dition  of  the  United  States  at  this  time  is  not  unlike  the  con¬ 
dition!  of  the  Israelitish  nation,  at  the  time  the  text  was  first 
written,  I  cannot  perhaps  better  improve  the  occasion  than  by 
pointing  out  some  of  the  lessons  which  God’s  dealings  with 
that  nation  teach. 

i.  It  is  not  enough  to  trace  national  judgments  to  their 
natural  causes.  We  must  look  higher,  or  we  shall  fail  to 
draw  from  them  the  instruction  which  they  are  calculated  to 
teach.  The  times  into  which  we  have  fallen  are  without  a 
parallel  in  the  history  of  our  government.  The  counsel  of 
the  wisest  of  our  statesmen  has  proved  insufficient  to  check 
the  wild  tumult  into  which  so  large  a  portion  of  the  country 
has  been  plunged.  However  much  honest  men  may  differ  as 
tc  the  true  causes  which  have  led  us,  as  a  nation,  to  this  brink 
of  ruin,  none  will  deny  that  it  is  now  alike  the  dictate  of  rea¬ 
son  and  of  patriotism,  that  we  do  all  in  our  power  towards 
perserving  the  liberties  purchased  for  us  by  the  Fathers  of  the 
Revolution. 

Before  proceeding  further  let  me  call  your  attention 
briefly  to  some  of  the  prominent  facts  ini  the  history  of  the 
Israelitish  nation  which  find  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  our 
country.  That  nation  was  declared  by  God’s  own  word,  to  be 
his  “peculiar  people.”  Among  all  the  nations,  none  were 
blessed  with  such  manifest  tokens  of  divine  favor,  as  was  the 
nation  at  the  Red  Sea,  when  having  resolved  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  oppression  it  was  secured  ini  its  independence,  by  the 
overthrow  of  its  enemies.  So  the  United  Colonies  of  Ameri¬ 
ca,  (were,  though  not  by  direct  word,  yet  in  most  unmistakable 
terms,  declared  in  the  providence  of  God  to  be,  his  “peculiar 
people.”  From  the  day  that  those  exiles  from  England  set 
foot  on  the  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  the  present,  the 
guiding  hand  of  God  has  not  been  withdrawn. 


THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION.  3 


The  Revolution!  was  the  Red  Sea  of  our  national  deliver¬ 
ance.  Moses,  the  lawgiver  and  patriot,  who  was  so  often  tried 
with  the  follies  and  the  sins  of  his  people,  and  yet  who  stood 
firm  when  the  whole  nation  trembled  with  fear,  finds  his 
parallel  in  our  own  Washington,  wiho  in  the  darkest  hour  of 
his  country’s  trial  abated  hope  nor  prayer,  but  in  faith  gave 
himself  up  to  her  service,  and  to  her  enfranchisement.  The 
forty  years  which  elapsed  after  the  Israelitish  nation*  was  se¬ 
cured  in  its  independence,  before  it  entered  into'  Canaan,  was 
a  period  of  mingled  prosperity  and  trial. 

Such  also  has  been  the  history  of  our  nation  thus  far. 
Under  the  righteous  government  which  God  himself  had  insti¬ 
tuted,  the  Israelites  enjoyed  the  most  ample  freedom  consist¬ 
ent  with  their  own  welfare,  and  yet  some  of  them  trampled  on 
the  authority  of  that  government  by  substituting  a  golden 
calf  in  place  of  the  only  and  true  God,  as  an  object  of  worship. 

How  instructive  is  the  history  of  that  rebellion!  In 
Moses’  absence  it  broke  out  into  fearful  proportions,  so  that 
it  became  necessary  for  him,  on  his  return)  from  the  mount, 
where  he  had  comimtuned  with  God,  to'  issue  a  proclamation 
to  all  loyal  men  in  the  follolwiing  language:  “Who  is  on  the 
Lord’s  side?  let  him  come  unto  me.  And  all  the  sons  of  Levi 
gathered  themselves  together  unto  him.  And  he  said  unto 
them:  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  put  every  man 
his  sword  by  his  side,  and  go  in  and  out  from  gate  to  gate, 
throughout  the  camp,  and  slay  every  man  his  companion  and 
every  man  his  neighbor.  And  the  children  of  Levi  did  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  word  of  Moses,  and  there  fell  of  the  people 
that  day  about  three  thousand  men.” 

It  wlas  soon  after  this  rebellion  and  the  fearful  conse¬ 
quences  that  followed  it,  that  Moses  went  into  the  tabernacle 
of  the  Lord  and  there  in  humble  supplication  sought  counsel 
in  the  words  of  the  text,  “Show  me  now  thy  way,  that  I  may 
know  thee,  that  I  may  find  grace  in  thy  sight,  and  consider 
that  this  nation  is  thy  people.  And  he  said:  My  presence 
shall  go  Iwith  thee,  and  I  will  give  thee  rest.” 

II.  As  already  remarked  the  providence  of  God  has  de¬ 
clared,  during  all  its  history,  that  this,  our  nation,  is  his  peo¬ 
ple.  Under  our  free  institutions  the  wilderness  has  been 


4  THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION. 


made  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  With  a  hospitality  such  as  no 
other  nation  has  ever  shown,  our  country  has  been  open  to 
the  wanderer,  and  the  exile,  from  every  land,  and  her  pro¬ 
tecting  shield  has  been  freely  proffered'  ito  all  who  have 
sought  her  shores  for  an  asylum  and  a  home.  From  a  popu¬ 
lation  of  three  millionis,  the  small  one  has  become  a  strong 
nation;  the  marts  of  her  cjomimlerce,  which  fifty  years,  ago, 
were  insignificant,  or  without  existence,  now  rival  the  seats 
of  trade,  that  in  the  old  world  have  been  built  for  centuries, 
atnd  the  hum  of  her  manufactories,  which  have  sprung  into 
life  as  by  magic,  keeps  time  iwith  the  spindles  of  Manchester, 
as  the  inventive  genius  of  her  people  outstrips  that  of  every 
other  nation. 

Nor  is  it  in  material  prosperity  alone  that  this  nation  has 
arisen  from  her  infancy,  so  soon  to  become  the  wonder  and 
admiration  of  the  iwlorld.  Fostered  by  her  free  institutions, 
education  in  almost  all  of  its  branches,  has  received  the  highest 
attention,  so  that  no  nation  on  the  face  of  the  globe  can  boast 
of  a  more  intelligent  population.  Works  of  art,  it  is  true, 
are  not  nulmerous  amongst  us  as  they  were  among  the 
ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  or  as  they  are  amongst  the 
nations  of  the  Old  World,  but  still  we  are  not  wholly  wanting 
in  the  products  of  genius,  both  in  painting  and  sculpture. 

It  was  the  glory  of  Athens  that  she  had  a  Phidias  to  adorn 
her  with  costly  statues  of  marble,  and  of  Rome  that  she  had  a 
Raphael  and  an  Angelo  to  beautify  her  wlith  paintings,  and 
masterpieces  of  architecture,  which  still  defy  the  ravages  of 
time.  But  America,  instead  of  such  as  these,  presents  to  the 
world  as  her  glory,  the  names  of  Patriots  who  adorn  their 
country’s  history  with  imperishable  renown,,  of  Statesmen 
whose  fame  grows  brighter  with  each  succeeding  year,  and  of 
Citizens  whose  worth  in  private  life  is  equaled  only  by  their 
valor,  when  called  to  maintain  the  honor  of  their  country, 
whether  assailed  by  traitors  at  home  or  enemies  abroad. 

Under  these  same  benign  institutions  also*,  Religion  has 
found  the  most  ample  protection!  and  reached  out  the  arms  of 
her  influence  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Here  every  man  is  free 
to  worship  God  as  he  will,  and  from  hence  have  gone  forth 
missionaries  of  the  Cross  of  Christ,  whose  names  are  redolent 


THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION.  5 


of  noble  deeds,  of  self-denying  love,  and  true  Christian  devo¬ 
tion/.  Colleges  and  seminaries  of  learning  have  here  been 
founded,  and  borne  abundant  fruit,  making  real  additions  to 
the  sum  of  human  knowledge;  and  religious  and  benevolent 
associations  at  the  sarnie  time  have  here  given  proof  to>  the 
world  that  our  blessings  as  a  people  have  not  been  wholly 
unappreciated,  nor  the  Lord  who  hath  bestowed  them  wholly 
forgotten 

Notwithstanding  all  these  proofs  that  “this  nation  is  thy 
people.”  Oh!  thou  God  of  Israel,  how  have  iwe  as  a  nation 
fallen,  under  thy  rod!  We  have  miade  to  ourselves  friends  of 
the  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  and  now  we  are,  as  a  nation, 
gathering  the  bitter  fruit.  Whilst  we  may  very  properly  at¬ 
tend  to  ithe  more  evident  causes  which  have  brought  us  into 
our  present  state,  let  us  never  forget  there  is  a  Being  placed 
above  them,  who  can  at  his  pleasure,  so  direct  the  affairs  of 
our  nation  as  to  make  the  war  into  which  we  have  been 
plunged  a  means  of  good,  not  to  our  nation  only,  but  to  the 
whole  human  race.  The  honor  of  God  requires  that  his 
sovereignity  should  be  acknowledged,  and  his  agency  con¬ 
fessed. 

Let  us  then  consider  the  conditions  by  which  we  are  to¬ 
day  confronted.  A  nation  of  twenty-three  millions  of  people, 
six  months  ago>,  elected,  according  tlo  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution,  a  Chief  Magistrate,  who  in  due  time  took  the 
prescribed  oath — “I  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will, 
to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the1 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.”  Against  the  authority  of 
the  government  thus  legally  constituted  there  has  risen  a  re¬ 
bellion  in  ten  States  of  the  Union,  which  has  in  a  short  period 
of  time,  assumed  such  a  threatening  aspect,  as  to  put  in 
jeopardy  the  very  government  itself.  State  after  state,  has 
followed  in  the  surging  and  maddening  current  of  rebellion, 
until  public  faith,  in  a  large  portion  of  the  Union,  is  cast  to 
the  winds,  and  treason,  a  thousand  fold  blacker  than  the 
treason  of  Benedict  Arnold,  has  come  to  be  christened  with  a 
new  name,  even  “Loyalty  to  the  State.” 

Thus  men  have  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because 


6  THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION. 


their  deeds  are  evil.  The  word  of  the  old  prophet — “Woe 
unto  them  that  call  evil  good  and  good  evil,  that  put  darkness 
for  light  ain/d  light  for  darkness” — echoing  down  through  the 
ages,  pronounces  the  sentence  of  condemnation  on  the  ene¬ 
mies  of  our  country.  At  the  call  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  more 
than  half  a  million  of  freemen,  loyal,  liberty-loving  citizens, 
irrespective  of  political  party  or  religious  creed,  have  sprung 
to  arms  in  defense  of  the  dearest  rights  to  man. 

All  honor  to  the  patriotic  instincts  by  which  the  masses 
have  thus  been  moved  to  respond  to  the  call  of  country,  in 
the  hour  of  her  peril.  But  if  we  repose  on  an  arm  of  flesh, 
instead  of  placing  our  reliance  on  God  for  safety,  it  will  be 
painful  to  contemplate  the  issue. 

“The  perfect  unanimity  which  prevails,  the  ardor  to  de¬ 
fend  everything  dear  to  us,  which  is  expressed  by  all  classes, 
the  sacrifices  cheerfully  made,  the  labors  sustained,  and  the 
mighty  preparation  by  sea  and  land,  which  the  vigilance  of 
the  government  has  set  on  foot  to  put  down  rebellion  must  be 
highly  satisfactory  to  every  well  disposed  mind.  They  af¬ 
ford,  as  well  as  huimtan  means  can  afford,  a  well  founded 
prospect  of  success.  Though  there  is  on  this  account  no 
room  to  despond,  but  much  on  the  contrary,  to  lead  us  to 
anticipate  a  favorable  issue  to  the  contest,  yet  nothing,  surely, 
can  justify  that  proud  confidence  in  our  national  force,  with¬ 
out  a  dependence  upon  God,  which  is  alike  contrary  to  the 
dictates  of  true  courage  and  true  piety.” 

True  courage  is  firm  and  unassuming — true  piety,  seri¬ 
ous  and  humble.  In  the  midst  of  all  our  preparations  we 
must  put  our  chief  confidence  in  Him  who  directs  all  things 
according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  and  is  able  to  cause 
the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him.  In  so  doing  our  reliance  on 
God,  however,  is  not  to  supercede  the  use  of  those  means 
which  he  puts  within  our  reach.  As  did  the  soldiers  of  the 
Revolution,  we  have  need  to  “Trusti  in  God  and  keep  our 
powder  dry.”  To  confide  in  an  arm  of  flesh,  to  trust  ini  the 
ability  of  our  government  without  seeking  aid  from  God, 
would  be  to  deny  him  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  to  depend  on 
the  interposition  of  Providence  without  huiman  exertion, 
would  be  to  tempt  God. 


THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION.  7 


As  Moses  looked  to  God  for  counsel,  calling  him  to 
remember  that  'the  Israelites  were  his  illation,  and  in  reply 
received  from  God  the  promise — “My  presence  shall  go  with 
thee,  and  I  will  give  thee  rest,” — so  if  we  look  to  him  as  a 
nation,  his  presence  shall  go  with  us  and  at  length  he  will 
give  us  rest.  But  let  us  not  deceive  ourselvesj  This  rest 
will  not  come  this  year.  It  is  to  be  purchased  with  blood. 
The  issue  has  been  forced  upon  the  government  by  its 
enemies.  The  proclamation  has  gone  forth  as  from  the 
God  of  Israel.  “Put  every  man  his  sword  by  his  side,  and 
go  in  and  out  from  gate  to  gate,  throughout  the  camp,  and 
slay  every  man  his  companion  and  every  man  his  neighbor/’ 

When  this  proclamation  was  made  to  the  Israelitish  na¬ 
tion,  it  was  obeyed,  and  there  fell  that  day  about  three  thous¬ 
and  men.  A  portion  had  rebelled  and  worshipped  a  golden 
calf.  That  rebellion  was  a  crime  which  God  did  not  fail  to 
punish,  even  though  to  execute  the  just  punishment,  it  be¬ 
came  necessary  for  the  men  of  Israel  to  take  the  sword  against 
their  own  kinsmen.  A  portion  of  our  naitlion  have  been  for 
a  long  time  worshipping  also  a.  golden  calf,  otherwise  called 
the  institution  of  slavery,  and  God  has  unsheathed  his  sword 
to  teach  them  that,  He  the  eternal  Jehovah,  is  the  God  of  this 
nation,  and  that  he  will  not  give  his  honor  to  another.  So 
long  as  they  worshipped  the  calf  themselves  and  did  not  in¬ 
sist  that  the  whole  nation  should  do  the  same  thing  also  ;  they 
were  noit1  disturbed  in  their  idolatry,  but  when  they  came  to 
insist  that  the  calf  must  be  worshipped  by  the  whole  nation, 
or  they  would  leave  the  camp,  God  in  his  manifest  Providence, 
ordered  the  proud  revolt  to  be  put  down  at  whatever  cost. 

Suppose  when  thait  rebellion  broke  out  amongst  the 
Israelites,  the  rebels  had  said — let  us  confederate  together 
and  leave  the  camp  of  Israel,  let  us  make  a  new  ark  and 
new  tables  of  the  law  modeled  after  the  old  tables,  but  es¬ 
sentially  different  in  the  first  article,  so  that  instead  of  read¬ 
ing — “Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me,  thou  shalt 
not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image  or  any  likeness  of 
anything  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or  that  is  ini  "the  earth  be¬ 
neath  or  that  is  in  the  water  under  the  earth,  &c.,”  it  shall 
read1 — “The  people  shall  be  free  to  worship  a  golden  calf 


8  THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION. 


and  shall  have  power  to  compel  others  to  worship  the  same.” . 

Would  he  who  had  chosen  Israel  as  his  own  nation  have 
allowed  such  a  secession?  Would  he  have  permitted  such 
a  nation  to  grow  up  alongside  his  own?  No  never,  never; 
but  instead  of  this  he  vindicated  the  honor  of  his  government. 
Through  his  people  he  proposed  to  give  blessings  to  the 
whole  world.  Hence  he  drove  out  the  Amorites,  the  Hittites, 
and  the  Canaanites  from  the  land,  and  gave  his  pople  an  in¬ 
heritance  there.  As  he  gave  command  to  take  possession  of 
the  whole  land,  and  so  expel  and  subdue  the  heathen  tribes  in 
order  to  secure  to  his  nation  rest,  so  all  the  miore,  would  not 
He  permit  a  new!  nation,  sprung  from  his  own  peculiar  people 
to  share  the  land  and  corrupt  it  with  their  base  idolatry. 

May  we  noit  learn  a  lesson  from  all  this  that  will  be 
pertinent  to  our  time?  The  rebellion  in  the  Israelitish  nation 
was  put  down  at  the  very  outset.  The  rebels  did  not  have 
time  to  make  a  new  ark,  and  new  tables  of  the  law.  Would 
that  like  promptness  had  been  manifest  in  our  American 
rebellion  at  the  outset;  then  we  should  not  have  been  today 
blushing  with  such  unwonted  humiliation  amd  shame. 

But  wie  must,  as  a  people,  take  things  as  they  are.  The 
rebels  have  made  a  new  ark,  and  new  tables  of  the  law.  The 
ark  has  been  named  The  Ark  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
the  tables  have  been  written  out  so  that  they  read  mot  like  the 
old  ones — “All  men  are  created  equal,  they  are  endowed 
by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienble  rights,  among  these 
are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.”  But  instead 
of  this,  “Slavery  is  the  chief  corner-stone  of  this  government.” 
“Oppression  of  our  fellow  men  is  a  Christian  virtue.”  Hear, 
oh  thou  Lord  of  Lords!  Can  it  be  that  the  barbarism  of  the 
dark  ages  is  to  roll  back  upon  us,  and  blot  out  all  that 
Christianity  has  done  for  the  human  race?  Methinks  I  hear 
the  answer  from  the  excellent  glory — No  never! 

Wars  like  offenses  will  come,  but  woe  to  them  by  whom 
this  war  has  come,  God  said  to  our  Fathers,  when  they 
achieved  our  national  independence.  “My  presence  shall  go 
with  thee  and  I  will  give  thee  rest.”  So  he  hath  given  rest 
to  our  nation,  and  so  will  he  do  again.  We  are  to  have  it 
however  only  as  we  prove  ourselves  worthy  to  enjoy  it. 


THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION.  9 


III.  In  a  report  lately  published  by  a  religious  convention 
I  am  ashamed  to  say,  called  the  “Southern  Baptist  Conven¬ 
tion, ”  which  met  on  the  ioth  of  last  month  at  Savannah, 
Georgia,  after  a  long  list  of  the  grossest  misrepresentations 
concerning  the  citizens  of  the  Free  States,  I  find  the  follow 
ing — “While  the  two  sections  of  the  land  are  thus  arrayed 
against  each  other,  ilt  might  naturally  have  been  hoped  that 
at  least  the  churches  of  the  North  would  interpose  and  pro¬ 
test  against  this  appeal  to  the  sword,  this  invoking  of  civil 
war,  this  deluging  of  the  country  in  fratricidal  blood;  but  with 
astonishment  and  grief  we  find  churches  and  pastors  of  the 
North  breathing  out  slaughter  and  clamoring  for  hostilities, 
which  we  would  have  supposed  impossible  among  the  dis¬ 
ciples  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.”  As  a  pastor  and  as  a  church, 
we  repel  this  foul  imputation  of  “breathing  out  slaughter.” 
To  it  we  would  answer,  we  remember  Fort  Sumter;  We  have 
not  forgotten  the  repeated  threats  made,  and  the  repeated 
planls  formed  to  capture  and  destroy  our  national  capital. 

Nor  have  we  forgotten  that  self-defense,  with  nations,  as 
w  ith  individuals,  is  the  first  law  of  nature,  a  law  which  Christ 
did  not  come  to  destroy; — that  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above 
is  first  pure,  then  peaceable.  That  wisdom  teaches  us  to  ab¬ 
hor  evil  and  to  cleave  to  that  which  is  good.  Obedient  to  the 
precepts  and  taught  by  the  genius  of  Christianity,  then  we 
cannot  but  say  that  we  hear  in  this  crisis  the  voice  of  Christ 
saying — “He  that  hath  no  sword  let  him  sell  his  garment  and 
buy  one.” 

The  cause  speaks  for  itself;  it  excites  feelings 
which  words  are  poorly  able  to  express.  The  dispute  is 
brought  to  a  short  issue;  it  is  not  wheth'er  the  North  shall 
conquer  the  South,  but  whether  this  nation,  built  by  so  many 
patriot  hands,  under  the  guidance  of  God;  this  nation  whose 
liberties  were  purchased  at  the  cost  of  so  many  sacrifices,  and 
cemented  by  the  blood  of  so  many  heroes;  this  nation  under 
whose  banner  we  have  enjoyed  such  manifold  blessings 
shall  die.  The  answer  comes  as  from  every  town  and  city, 
saying:  “We  too  have  sent  forth  our  offering,  and  our  sons 
have  counted  it  an  honor  to  die  in  defense  o>f  the  liberties  that 
God  has  given  us.  , 


10  THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION. 


War,  at  best,  is  terrible  to  contemplate.  Would  that  I 
could  portray  it,  in  all  its  horrors,  if  by  so  doing,  I  might 
more  effectually  lead  you,  who  are  about  to  go  forth  as  our 
representatives  to  the  field  of  conflict  to  contemplate  the 
sufferings  that  may  await  you,  and  the  sudden  death  against 
which  no  soldier  is  insured.  Froimi  the  grave  of  that  young 
Patriot  whose  life  was  offered  up,  the  first  sacrifice  on  Vir¬ 
ginia  soil,  to  freedom,  an|d  from  the  streets  of  the  Monumental 
city,  where  the  sons  of  Massachusetts  were  slaughtered,  the 
warning  comes  to  you  all.  Stop  a  moment !  Tomorrow  may 
find  you  on  the  march  for  the  field  of  conflict!  Where  is  the 
goal  of  your  best  affections?  Do'  you  march  under  the  or¬ 
ders  of  the  Lord  of  Lords  and  King  of  Kings?  Honored  be 
the  “Star  Spangled  Banner,”  but  he  alone  who  sees  com¬ 
mingled  with  its  folds  the  blood-stained  banner  of  the  cross 
of  Christ,  is  fully  prepared  for  the  battle.  It  is  such  a  soldier 
that  wins  the  well-fought  day. 

No  title  that  earth  ever  knew  is  so  to  be  honored  as 
the  title — “A  Christian  Soldier.”  No  courage  is  so  sustained 
as  that  courage  that  is  built  on  Faith  in  God,  and  no  consola¬ 
tion  so  full  of  sweetness,  as  the  consolation  which  Christ 
gives  to  them,  who  trust  in  Him,  alike  ini  the  quiet  of  home, 
and  in  the  noise  and  smoke  of  battle.  To'  go  forth  to  battle 
without  armis,  would,  as  every  soldier  knows,  be  proof  of  the 
highest  folly. 

So  there  is  need  of  weapons,  both  offensive  and  defensive, 
in  the  spiritual  battles  which  the  Christian  Soldier  has  before 
him.  These  weapons  are  described  in  the  sixth  chapter  of 
Ephesians.  The  armor  is  the  “armor  of  God;”  the  breast¬ 
plate  is  “righteousness;”  the  shield  is  “Faith;”  the  helmet  is 
salvation,”  an(d  the  sword  is  the  word  of  God;  Christ  himself 
is  the  Captain.  He  calls  to  night  for  volunteers  in  that  war  in 
which  there  is  no  discharge,  and  whose  reward  is  eternal  life. 
He  invites  you,  not  to  the  privations  of  the  camp  and  to  that 
death  where  all  is  gloom,  but  rather  to  the  self-denial  of  the 
heart,  and  to  that  life,  where  all  is  light  and  everlasting  rest. 

Religion  is  interested  in  your  success  and  proffers  you 
her  aid — she  will  shed  over  the  cause  in  which  you  have 
enlisted,  her  selectest  influences.  While  you  are  engaged  in 


THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION.  11 


the  field,  she  will  not  forget  to  utter  the  prayer  which  has  power 
with  God.  Some  of  you  may  fall  aimlidst  the  shouts  of  bat¬ 
tle  and  the  shock  of  arms.  To  such  as  yield  your  hearts  to 
her  control,  Religion  will  furnish  a  balm  for  every  wound, 
and  fighting  under  her  banner,  you  shall  be  victors.  Let  the 
solemnities  of  this  hour  be  fixed  in  all  your  hearts,  and  may 
He  who  sits  enthroned  on  high  prove  to-  be  the  God  of  your 
lives,  and  his  Son  the  Captain  of  your  salvation. 


AFTERWORD. 

On  the  4th  day  of  March,  1861,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugurated 
president  of  the  United  States. 

At  that  time  seven  states  had  passed  ordinances  of  secession  from 
the  Union,  to-wit:  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Georgia,  Louisiana  and  Texas. 

The  city  of  Washington  swarmed  with  secessionists,  and  was  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  population  in  full  sympathy  with  secession. 

On  Sunday,  the  14th  of  April  following,  Major  Robert  Anderson, 
in  command  of  Fort  Sumpter  in  Charleston  harbor,  with  a  force  or 
seventy-five  men,  after  a  bombardment  of  two  days  by  a  rebel  force 
under  command  of  Gen.  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard,  evacuated  the  fortress 
and  marched  out  with  the  honors  of  war. 

On  the  day  following,  April  15,  President  Lincoln  issued  a  call 
for  75,000  volunteers,  to  serve  for  three  months,  in  restoring  the 
national  authority,  and  at  the  same  time  summoned  congress  to 
meet  on  the  4th  day  of  July. 

Pursuant  to  the  call  for  volunteers,  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  regi¬ 
ment  on  its  way  to  Washington,  for  the  protection  of  the  national 
capitol,  was  on  the  19th  day  of  April,  attacked  by  a  mob  of  ten 
thousand  secessionists,  while  passing  through  Baltimore,  and  three 
of  its  members  killed.  This  was  the  first  blood  shed  during  the 
war  of  four  years  which  followed. 

For  a  week  all  communication  was  cut  off  between  Washington 
and  the  free  states  of  the  north.  The  fate  of  the  Republic  trembled 
as  in  a  balance,  and  all  loyal  hearts  were  stirred  with  the  most  de¬ 
termined  resolution  to  defend  and  preserve  the  Union,  for  which  the 
fathers  had  given  the  last  full  measure  of  heroic  sacrifice.  The  first 
invasion  of  the  seceeded  states  by  the  National  forces  took  place  on 
the  24th  day  of  May.  Previous  to  which  time  Virginia,  Arkansas, 
Tennessee,  and  North  Carolina  had  seceeded  and  joined  the  Con¬ 
federacy.  On  that  day  the  Eleventh  New  York  regiment  of  Fire 


12  THE  ARM  OF  THE  LORD  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  NATION. 


Zouaves,  under  the  command  of  Col.  E.  E.  Ellsworth,  was  the  first  to 
enter  Alexandria,  Virginia,  and  take  possession  of  the  city. 

The  gallant  young  commander,  discovering  a  rebel  flag  floating 
from  the  top  of  the  “Marshall  House,”  ascended  and  snatched  it 
from  its  place,  and  while  descending  the  stairs  with  the  trophy,  was 
shot  and  instantly  killed  by  the  rebel  proprietor,  Jackson. 

His  death,  and  the  impressive  funeral  obsequies,  which  were 
held  in  Washington,  with  President  Lincoln  as  the  chief  mourner, 
served  to  arouse  the  entire  people  of  the  northern  states  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  patriotic  devotion. 

These  incidents  which  marked  the  first  three  months  of  the  new 
administration,  served  to  open  beyond  control,  the  doors  of  the  im¬ 
pending  conflict. 

The  excitement  of  those  early  days  of  the  rebellion  can  now 
scarcely  be  realized.  Piercing  the  mists  of  the  future  with  a  con¬ 
fident  glance,  the  men  of  1861  rose  to  the  occasion,  and  heroically 
devoted  themselves  to  their  country’s  service. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  all  this  excitement,  with  which  the  very 
air  was  surcharged,  that  this  sermon  was  prepared  and  delivered 

The  occasion  which  specially  called  it  forth  was  an  invitation 
extended  by  Capt.  O.  H.  LaGrange,  of  the  “Jtiipon  Kifles,”  a  local 
military  company,  on  the  eve  of  its  departure  for  the  seat  of  war, 
as  a  part  of  the  Fourth  Wisconsin  volunteers,  under  command  or 
Col.  Halbert  E.  Paine. 

Captain  LaGrange  was  afterwards  transferred  to,  and  commis¬ 
sioned  as  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  First  regiment  of  Wisconsin  Cav¬ 
alry,  and  continuing  in  the  service  to  the  close  of  the  war,  made  a 
record  as  a  dashing  cavalryman,  and  one  of  the  most  heroic  leaders 
on  many  a  hotly  contested  field  of  battle.  Of  the  eighty  members  of 
that  company,  now  after  the  lapse  of  forty-two  years,  few  survive, 
but  among  them  Colonel  LaGrange,  in  a  vigorous  old  age,  is  now 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Soldiers’  Home  at  Santa  Monica,  California. 

To  him  I  dedicate  this  re-printed  sermon,  in  memory  of  the  days 
of  1861. 


Springfield,  Illinois,  March  4,  1904. 


E.  S.  W. 


